"Its physical condition is very good, and combined with what you've described, the problem must lie with its friends."
Lucas gave the Umbreon he was holding in his arms a massage, pretending to catch a glimpse of the text box description by accident, and said.
"Its friends? I recall them playing very well together."
The woman in front of him looked at the Umbreon in Lucas's arms with concern and said.
"You know, the Pokémon world isn't much different from our human world; we have school bullying, and it happens among Pokémon too."
Lucas held up a finger and said.
"You mean—"
Lucas nodded, "That's right. My suggestion is, if you have time, try to spend more time with it. A Trainer's companionship is much more effective than letting it go out to find friends on its own."
After speaking, Lucas gently parted the Umbreon's fur, revealing the scars underneath.
The young woman covered her mouth, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.
"This— Little Umbreon, I didn't know they—"
The woman said with a trembling voice.
"Don't worry, we will treat its physical wounds, but its emotional scars will need you to spend time with it so they can slowly heal."
"Yes, I will. I'll make time for it. Actually, I was planning to change jobs, so I'll take it to the new place. My new job will give me more time to be with it."
The woman took the tissue handed to her by Mrs. Fujino, wiped her tears, and said.
"That would be for the best."
Lucas nodded with a smile.
"Gothitelle."
The medicine arrived.
Lucas took the herbal medicine from Gothitelle, checked the temperature, scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and brought it to the Umbreon's mouth.
Feeling the Umbreon's trembling body, Lucas's voice was incredibly gentle, "It's okay now. Your owner said she's going to move to a new place and will spend time with you, so let's take our medicine first. Once you're better, you can play happily with her, okay?"
Hearing Lucas's words, the Umbreon hesitated for a moment, then stuck out its tongue to lick the herbal medicine in the spoon.
"Great job."
Lucas praised it while feeding the rest of the herbal medicine to the Umbreon in his arms.
The medicine took effect quickly. Smelling the scent on Lucas that made Pokémon feel at ease, the Umbreon closed its eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
"Nii~"
Have a good dream~
Roserade came over to the Umbreon, its flowers emitting a sweet fragrance.
"Gengar, go call Pinsir, Heracross, and Azumarill over."
While handing the Umbreon back to its Trainer, Lucas whispered an instruction to Gengar.
Gengar nodded and passed through the wall to the backyard.
Feeling the familiar embrace, the Umbreon shifted its position, smelling the fragrance emitted by Roserade, and fell into a sweet sleep with a smile.
"Umbreon?"
The Umbreon opened its eyes and found its Trainer looking at it with a worried expression. It nudged its Trainer with its head and let out a sweet sound.
"Umbreon—"
I'm fine, it's okay—
The woman's eyes welled up with tears again.
Lucas reached out and scratched the Umbreon's chin.
How can there be such cute Pokémon in the Eevee Family—
No matter what type they evolve into, they are all so cute—
Daring to bully such a cute Umbreon... Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Since the Umbreon is awake, let's begin the next part of the treatment."
The woman nodded.
The Umbreon's injuries were mostly healed thanks to the herbal medicine. Feeling comfortable again, the Umbreon let out a cute sound of confusion.
"Umbreon?"
Lucas smiled and flicked it on the forehead, "Now we're going to teach the Pokémon that bullied you a lesson."
"Umbreon—"
But I can't beat them—
"It's fine. Pinsir, I have a mission for you: take your good friends and go vent for our cute Umbreon."
Pinsir patted its chest in front of the Umbreon.
"Heri!"
Follow me, I'll go get revenge for you!
Lucas nodded at the woman, who picked up the Umbreon and followed behind Pinsir.
Pinsir called for Rhyperior, Heracross, Azumarill, as well as the Lopunny and Honchkrow from the forest. The group of Pokémon marched imposingly towards Twinleaf Town.
"Nii-cough."
Do it well.
Pinsir paused and looked back, but Azumarill had already looked away. Lucas clenched his fist at Pinsir.
"Heri!"
Leave it to me!
"Zoroark, could you trouble yourself to go as well? I'm afraid they might not know when to stop—"
Lucas looked at Zoroark, who was eating snacks on the side, and said.
"No problem."
Zoroark's gentle voice echoed in his mind. Then, it pulled Zorua out from its mane, tossed it to Lucas, and vanished from everyone's sight.
Zorua: ???
"Is this really okay?"
Mrs. Fujino asked with some concern, "Won't this cause trouble for Officer Jenny and her team?"
"It won't. Those Pokémon that bullied the Umbreon are all stray Pokémon. Most stray Pokémon are abandoned ones, and the rest are wild Pokémon. After Pinsir and the others teach them a lesson, Officer Jenny and the others can capture them, send them to the Pokémon Center for treatment, and after they recover, let them return to the wild or find them suitable Trainers—"
Lucas reached out to pick up the Munchlax sitting on the carpet, but couldn't lift it. He settled for petting the Zorua in his arms instead.
"Abandonment—is the main reason for the increase in stray Pokémon—"
Lucas sighed and said, "Once abandoned by their Trainers, they carry resentment, anger, and other emotions. They often gather in groups, which then cause harm to the Pokémon or people in the city—"
"Why do they capture Pokémon only to abandon them later?"
"Who knows—"
This problem is just like in Lucas's past life; the number of stray cats and dogs increases every year—
"Perhaps it's because they think the Pokémon are weak and abandon them?"
Lucas turned to look at Lilligant, "But in reality, most of them end up losing the big picture for the sake of small gains, right, my charming Lilligant?"
"Lilli~"
That's right~
Lilligant gave Lucas a sweet smile.
Come to think of it, it should thank the person who abandoned it, otherwise it wouldn't have met Lucas, Gengar, and the others—
Lucas picked up Zorua and stood up, "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll take them and head over."
"Alright."
Mrs. Fujino bowed slightly, "Please give a word to little Shauna and the others for me: tell them to get a good rest at night and not stay up late."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them."
Lucas said with a smile.
"That's exactly why I'm worried. Manager, have you forgotten that a while ago you were staying up late with Shauna and the others every day?"
Speaking of this, Mrs. Fujino's gaze instantly became sharp.
The Manager is great at everything, but when it comes to taking care of kids, as long as Shauna uses Charm, he surrenders immediately.
Lucas coughed twice, "The matches might have started over there again. I'll be going."
"If I remember correctly, today's matches have already ended."
Mr. Fujino interjected at this moment.
Lucas: —
Talked too much.
Lucas had been called back by Mrs. Fujino's phone call. At that time, he had just finished talking with Gary and was returning to the stands to watch the final match when Mrs. Fujino called to say there was a guest at the Breeding House who needed treatment. Mr. and Mrs. Fujino could handle the physical injuries, but most importantly, the Umbreon also needed emotional healing, so Lucas had to return to the Breeding House during his vacation.
Shauna and Tomoyo were left in the stands.
Lucas raised his hand, and a Distortion Portal appeared in front of him.
"We're leaving then. Call me if anything comes up."
Lucas, holding Zorua, made a phone gesture to Mr. and Mrs. Fujino.
"Alright, have fun."
Mrs. Fujino said with a smile.
The Distortion Portal disappeared, and everyone and the Pokémon at the Breeding House began to busy themselves with their work.
Not long after, Mrs. Fujino brought a cup of milk tea, a pot of brewed tea, and some snacks from the kitchen to the rest area, placed them on the table, and sat down next to Mr. Fujino.
"Now it's just the two of us alone again."
Mrs. Fujino poured a cup of hot tea for Mr. Fujino and said with a smile.
"The videos should be out by now, right? For the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Mr. Fujino put down the repair tools he was holding, stood up to put them back under the counter, washed his hands, returned to the rest area, and took out the remote to turn on the TV, which happened to be broadcasting today's semi-final match.
Mr. and Mrs. Fujino said nothing. Mr. Fujino reached out and put his arm around Mrs. Fujino's shoulder, letting her lean against him as they quietly watched the match on TV. When customers came, they served them; when there were no customers, they rested.
There was no one else around; it was a time for the couple to be alone together.
Inside the Distortion World portal.
Giratina: ————
Although he was angry that he used the Distortion World portal as a shortcut, thinking about how he was doing it for work, he didn't seem so angry anymore.
Want to rest?! Get to work!
Lucas looked at Giratina, who was inexplicably feeling secretly pleased, with a confused expression.
It was clear that just after he had hung up the phone, the Distortion World portal had appeared in front of him on its own.
Could it be that Giratina set me up?
"Giratina, did you set me up?"
Upon hearing this, Giratina twisted its body and left directly.
What are you saying? I don't understand.
It was highly suspicious.
Lucas stared at Giratina's departing back.
In the coming days, surely he wouldn't have to return to the Breeding House several times a day to handle affairs, would he?
Lucas suddenly shivered.
What would you call this? Is this still vacation time? Isn't this exactly the same as working?
Lucas walked out of the Distortion World with a heavy heart.
Seeing Lucas's figure disappear, Giratina stopped its movements and looked at the image of the Breeding House in the sky.
Hurry up and bring me some work so I can pull him in and make him work.
It wouldn't be fair if the whole world was resting while only it was working, right?
Everyone says the master of the Distortion World has it good, but the Distortion World has many places that are affected by reality and collapse every day, requiring repairs.
Now that it saw Lucas also had to work, it inexplicably felt happy.
Twinleaf Town.
Somewhere in a corner.
"Heracross?" Are these them?
Pinsir turned back to look at the Umbreon being held in the woman's arms, pointed at the few Pokémon in the corner, and asked.
Umbreon trembled and buried its head into the woman's arms. After a long while, a muffled sound rang out.
"Umbee————"
Pinsir looked at Umbreon's trembling body, signaled its understanding, and then looked at Rhyperior.
It and Heracross each climbed onto Rhyperior's palms.
"I'll form the left hand."
"I'll form the right hand."
Azumarill hesitated for a moment.
"Marill?"
"Then I'll form the tail?"
Lopunny: "I'll form the head." Lopunny jumped onto Rhyperior's shoulder.
The Breeding House version of Five-King made its official debut!
With the thrust from the launch ports on Rhyperior's palms, Pinsir and Heracross were launched out, charging toward the stray Pokémon in the corner.
"Heracross!"
"Take my horn!"
The battle was on the verge of breaking out!
After Officer Jenny arrived, Pinsir clapped its hands in satisfaction.
"Marill."
Done, let's wrap it up.
A Houndoom came to Officer Jenny's side and kept wailing.
"Roar———— Roar-roar———— Roar-roar-roar————"
"We didn't do anything, they just came over and hit us. You have to stand up for us————"
"I suspect you have some serious issues now. Come with us."
Officer Jenny's voice rang out.
Houndoom gave Pinsir and the others a smug smile of success.
It had heard from other Pokémon about the treatment in the town's police station; you guys go in and get some good "treatment."
The next second, Houndoom's smile froze.
It saw that all its companions had been locked in cages.
Houndoom: ???
This isn't right?!
Shouldn't they be the ones taken away?! Why us?! We are the victims!!! Is there some mistake, hey!
It tried to run, but Arcanine blocked its path.
"Ar-roar?"
"Where do you think you're going, little brother."
Looking at the Arcanine that was two heads taller than it, Houndoom hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran.
"Roar!"
"Take my punch!"
Rhyperior punched Houndoom in the stomach.
"Roar————"
Houndoom fell to the ground, wailing.
Rhyperior: ???
"I only used half my strength? This much strength can't even budge Dash and the others at the Breeding House, so how did you fall down?"
Could this be what Gengar often calls Pokémon fraud?!
Rhyperior's eyes narrowed instantly.
"My money is all reserved for Alcremie; you aren't trying to take it, are you?"
Feeling its internal organs displaced, Houndoom suddenly sensed a murderous intent. Scared, it hurriedly hid beside Officer Jenny.
"Ar-roar————"
"Look at them, how excessive! Hitting me right in front of you, isn't this slapping the face of you law enforcers?"
Zoroark's translation reached Officer Jenny's mind.
Officer Jenny looked at Houndoom, who was complaining to her, thought for a moment, and said: "Why do they only hit you and not the other Pokémon?"
Houndoom: ???
Is this human language? How would I know!
Pinsir looked at Houndoom, revealing an evil smile. It slowly walked behind Houndoom, its horn shining brightly under the sunlight.
It stared at Houndoom's butt————
It remembered the scenes where it was often subjected to "Thousand Years of Death" by Gengar at the Breeding House. Hehehe————
"If you don't want me to tell Dash, take your team home now." Zoroark's voice rang out.
Pinsir looked back and saw Zoroark standing on the roof, watching it.
Pinsir sighed regretfully.
Damn it!
Pinsir waved to Officer Jenny, then came to Umbreon.
"Heracross."
It's okay now, don't worry.
Umbreon looked at the stray Pokémon all locked in cages, remembering the scenes of their past interactions.
It didn't seem so scary anymore————
"Heracross."
"Next time you get bullied, come find us at the Breeding House, or over at the Cottage; we'll get back at them for you."
After speaking, Pinsir nudged Umbreon with its horn.
"We're friends now; remember to find us if anything happens, bye-bye."
With that, it took Heracross and the others and ran off.
Houndoom couldn't understand until it was locked in the car why the police didn't arrest Pinsir and the others, but arrested it instead.
"By the way, do they not know that we and Pinsir are in the same group?"
Officer Jenny's voice reached Houndoom's ears.
Houndoom: ————
I————
"Great, they've finally been taken away."
"Yeah, they've caused us a lot of trouble————"
"Thanks to Officer Jenny."
"Didn't you see? It was Pinsir and the others who helped."
"Thanks to the Pokémon from the Breeding House————"
"They've caused us too much trouble during this time————"
Houndoom lay down gently in the cage.
So, unknowingly————we have caused them so much trouble?
Thinking of those Pokémon it had hurt———— But it was once his favorite Pokémon too————
All it wanted was the same as that Umbreon————to be loved by someone————
Thinking of that Umbreon, it often told it and other Pokémon about how good its Trainer was to it.
Even though its Trainer didn't have time to accompany it, and it had to come out to make friends with them, why did it still like its Trainer so much?
It was abandoned, which is why it didn't trust humans so much————
It was clear that Pokémon were only best when they were with other Pokémon————
It was clear————it just wanted to get the attention of humans————
It was clear————
Had it really done so many bad things?
I'm sorry————
Houndoom's eyes involuntarily welled up.
At the moment the car door closed, it heard a sentence.
"I hope they can find masters and Trainers who love them————"
It was a childish voice.
Humans or whatever————are the worst————
They are the ones who say they like you, and they are the ones who abandon you.
But why did it still want to get their attention?
The car door closed.
By the street, a little girl holding a Houndour doll watched the departing Officer Jenny and looked at her mother, "Mom, if Houndoom is treated well and corrects its mistakes, can we adopt it?"
"Hmm————it's very fierce, Dad probably won't agree."
The little girl lowered her head regretfully.
"But we could take it to the Breeding House to see? Maybe Lucas has a way, who knows?"
"Really?"
"Then you have to study hard and eat well."
"Mm!"
The little girl nodded heavily, hugging the Houndour doll tightly.
"Houndoom, I will study hard and eat well, you have to correct yourself too————"
Inside the carriage, tears flowed down Houndoom's face.
***************************
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